Don’t let the cover of the new We Are the City album scare you off. While they are sporting t-shirts covering their faces on the front, behind those masks are three down to earth and earnest musicians. The band gained national attention last year after being selected as winners of the Peak Performance Project in Vancouver where they collected $150 000 through a battle of the bands sort of competition. After a lineup change, the Kelowna band now consists of Cayne McKenzie on vocals and keys, Andrew Huculiak on drums, and Blake Enemark on guitar.
High School started off as a experimental side project where the band would tie shirts over their faces and adopted fictional aliases. From start to finish, the six songs on the album bring something fresh and creative to the table each time. There are elements of pro rock thrown in there, but condensed into the time frame of pop songs. Opener “Get Happy” starts off with some African inspired drum beats before melting into Cayne’s piano and vocals. By the halfway point of the track, the song is soaring with building percussion, crashing cymbals, pounding keys, and fuzzy guitars. There is a level of unpredictability that comes with this album as a song may change pace multiple times throughout such as on “That’s It, That’s All” featuring pauses of different lengths and eventually turning into an impassioned all out jam.
If you’re looking for an album/EP that you can sit down and listen to in one listen and enjoy every moment of it, then High School has your name all over it. We Are The City have the creative force and ambition that will ensure they are on the Canadian music scene for a long time.
Check out their recently shot Southern Souls video. You can download an mp3 of the track here.
